WorksheetsMacbeth Act I & II Quiz
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 10mins
How does Lady Macbeth react upon receiving the letter from Macbeth?
She fears that he is too full of the milk of human kindness.
She fears he will be slain like the serpent under the stool.
She hopes he will rise like the ruby clawed lion.
She faints at his overt masculinity and capability.
What is the premise of the play?
3 witches give a noble Scotsman a prophecy that he will become king, awakening slumbering ambition.
3 witches absolutely wreck Scotland by turning folks into pigs and general witchery.
A noble Scotsman resists temptation but is led astray by his wife and best friend.
A noble Lady is tired of her lot in life and pushes her husband to greatness with the help of her pet toad, Paddock.
What is the initial impression the audience gets of Macbeth before meeting him onstage?
He is a coward.
He is a traitor.
He is a brave general.
He is obsessed with the occult.
Lady Macbeth says, “you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty” (1.5.38–41). What is she asking for?
She wants the ability to shed her "feminine" traits and embrace "masculine" traits that will help her further her ambitions.
She wants Macbeth to be more masculine so that he will be able to carry out the murder plot.
She is calling on the witches to give her powers to be able to hide her deceptions from King Duncan.
She wants to have all of her emotions removed so that she is only cruel, enabling her to kill the king and win the crown for herself.
After Duncan arrives at Inverness, Macbeth is pacing around thinking ....
it would be easy to commit the murder if he could be 100% sure no negative consequences would come of it.
that Duncan looks very much like his own father and he feels racked with guilt for what he is about to do.
how jealous he is of Malcolm and Donalbain; he wishes he had been born as the king's rightful son.
that he should frame the oboe player for the murder because he slighted Lady Macbeth and she wants his entire family killed.
Who comes up with the final plan to kill King Duncan?
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Ross and Angus
Malcolm
What is the final plan to kill Duncan?
The murderer(s) will get the chamberlains drunk, slip in while Duncan sleeps, stab him, then smear the blood on the sleeping chamberlains to frame them.
The murderer(s) will hire this task out to some townspeople who have been improvished; desperate for money to feed their families, these townspeople will do anything for the right price.
The murderer(s) will poison the King's cup with deadly webcap, which will cause his heart to stop and look like a natural death.
The murderer(s) will get some raccoons drunk and release them into the king's chambers with a trench coat, causing confusion and possibly rabies.
In Act 1, Macbeth is concerned about potentially murdering the king and says “bloody instructions . . . being taught, return / To plague th’inventor” (1.7.9–10). What does this line show us about his concerns?
He feels that once he chooses this path, it will come back to haunt him.
He feels that if he commits the murder he will surely be caught.
He feels that he must have someone else commit the murder so he doesn't lose his shot at being king.
He feels that the blood will stain the floors of Inverness ruining its potential resell value and annoying his realtor.
How does Lady Macbeth react when Macbeth shows hesitation over killing Duncan?
She tells him to man up.
She tells him she will divorce him.
She tells him she will go join the witches.
She tells him her mother said she shouldn't have married him.
Which of the following quotes best captures the theme of "seeming versus being" presented thus far in Act 1?
False face must hide what the false heart doth know
Unsex me here / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty!
All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs
In Act 2, Macbeth dreams of...
the witches crowning him.
a floating dagger.
Banquo holding Lady Macbeth.
Twizzlers and Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
Lady Macbeth would have killed Duncan herself, but...
She was afraid of getting caught
He looked like her father
She hates the sight of blood
She didn't have a knife
What is the signal Lady Macbeth gives Macbeth to let him know that the coast is clear?
She imitates a bird call.
She calls him on his cellie.
She rings a bell.
She plays a bagpipe.
Why does Lady Macbeth get frustrated with Macbeth in Act 2?
He fails to murder Duncan.
He fails to murder the chamberlains and Malcolm.
He brings the daggers with him from the crime scene.
He brings Duncan's crown with him from the crime scene.
Who discovers that the king is dead in the morning?
Malcom
Lennox
Macduff
Donalbain
At the end of this act, Macbeth is riding to Scone to...
Eat pastries.
Be crowned king.
Watch Malcolm be crowned king.
Chase down the "Murderers".
What strange things happen on the same night that King Duncan is murdered?
There were terrible storms, cries of grief, screams of death, voices predicting bad things to come, the owls hooting all night, and the earth shaking.
There were terrible floods, children crying all night, screams from devils, wells crumbled into the earth, the mil caught on fire, and the goats bleated all night.
There was a fire set by the witches, the moon was eclipsed from the sky, all the crops turned to ash, and lions roamed the streets eating peasants. Lady Macbeth woke up dreaming she was covered in blood.
There was a tornado that destroyed the local church, corpses were flung out of graves and littering the street, wives and mothers cried out in the night for their lost sons, and all the cows' milk turned sour. Bats swarmed Inverness and destroyed all the bird nests that had been there previously.
Macbeth says ""Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor / Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more."" What is the significance of this quote?
Macbeth will stay up celebrating his success and is now ready to party. He wants to wake the musicians and carry on the revels into the night. This is a statement of his joy.
Macbeth feels like he has made a huge power move and no longer needs to worry at all. He is so big now that he's surpassed the need for human things, like sleep. This is a claim of victory and ascension.
Macbeth feels the weight of his actions. He understands that in killing Duncan, he won't be able to ever rest easily since now he must always protect his crown. He's worried about his legacy.
Macbeth feels the weight of his actions. Killing Duncan was as big of an action as if he killed the immaterial idea of sleep. It is an expression of guilt.
Macbeth asks "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine". Lady Macbeth later says "A little water clears us of this deed." What does this reveal about the characters' different levels of guilt?
Macbeth uses hyperbole to express the magnitude of both his guilt and the consequences of his actions; Lady Macbeth responds by undercutting the magnitude of their murder and attempting to bring Macbeth back to a practical approach to covering up their crime.
Macbeth uses hyperbole to express his feelings of power; he feels powerful enough to override Neptune's command of the ocean and stain it red if he wanted. Lady Macbeth responds, asking for a little water, meaning a little power. She's trying to exert control and grab power for herself.
Macbeth uses hyperbole to express to Lady Macbeth how he needs a shower to wash all the blood from his body. She agrees and offers him a little water. This shows us the strength of their relationship and how they work as a team.
Macbeth uses hyperbole to express his need to get away from the scene of the crime; he wants to escape to the seas and seek protection elsewhere. Lady Macbeth says he just needs to clean up and he'll be okay. This is a moment of Lady Macbeth comforting Macbeth; we get to see a tender moment in their relationship.
How does Lady Macbeth weaponize the expectations of women in the period to divert guilt away from herself?
She plays up the idea of women as fragile by breaking down into tears at the discovery of Duncan's body, wailing that her King has died in her own house.
She plays on the idea of women as gentle by offering up prayers and warm drinks to the men.
She plays on the idea of women as weak and unable to stomach gore by fainting at the discovery of Duncan's body.
She plays out the idea of women as domestic and tidy by immediately accusing the king's guards and bringing out their bloody clothes as evidence.
